Matsui Shuzo is a shochu producer founded in 1910. The business bought, matured and blended Scottish whiskies for several years before opening its own distillery, Kurayoshi, in 2017, in the town of the same name, near Mount Daisen (Tottori Prefecture). It is important to distinguish between the whisky produced at Kurayoshi, which is released under the name Matsui, and the blends of Scottish whiskies, found under the name Kurayoshi, with very Japanese packaging and the statement “Made in Japan”, which can lead to confusion. The whiskies are aged in various types of cask including Mizunara (Japanese oak) casks and cherry wood casks.

Kurayoshi 18 Year Old is a blend of Scottish malt whiskies aged in white oak produced by the Matsui Shuzo group, which also owns the Japanese whisky distillery Kurayoshi. Nonetheless, the whisky in this bottling is Scottish, not Japanese.